Posted
by
BeauHDon Sunday February 28, 2016 @01:54PM
from the packed-like-sardines dept.

AmiMoJo writes: Airbus, a leading aircraft manufacturer, has recently applied for a pair of airplane seat patents that simultaneously look to increase customer comfort while stripping away what little room remains. The first patent is for a "Re-Configurable Passenger Bench Seat," which allows seat belts and arm rests to be moved to accommodate different size passengers (e.g. two large adults, or two small adults and two small children in a row). The second patent places a storage box under each seat, which is accessed by raising the seat cushion. Of course, this means there wouldn't be room for your feet under the seat in front of you.

Okay, so our flight just landed and I'm siting near the back of the plane, not far from the galley door. As we are taxiing to the jetway the pilot gets on the PA and says something about the weather outside and where we can get our bags. We hear him hang up the mike but it's still active. The next thing we hear is the pilot saying to the co-pilot, "Man, what I could use right now is a hot coffee and a blow job." I see the stewardess in the galley go running to the flight deck door. I yell up to her as she passes, "Lady! You forgot the coffee!"

I'm looking forward to a Singapore Airlines flight from Perth to London later this week. 5.5 hours PER-SIN, 14 hours SIN-LHR. It doesn't bother me as much because it's Singapore. Good food, 19" wide seats in economy, top notch service and good IFE's as well as 30 KG checked luggage IN ECONOMY with no Krisflyer status (I've got Krisflyer Silver so I get an extra 10 KG on top of that).

Its only really US/Western airlines that practice the whole "sit down, strap in a

Some of us (e.g. anyone who works for the federal government and many federal contractors) are required to use the cheapest available tickets. It's not like we have a choice. The airlines, in pursuing lower base ticket prices at the expense of even minimal service, have completely screwed us, because we have to buy them.

Same reason I'm defending the airlines. Cost. It wasn't worth spending twice as much money for the trip for my girlfriend, and since this started as a corporate trip I was restricted with airline choice.

That's one thing I will be critical of airlines. Pricing models are inconsistent. KLM is cheaper to take in peak periods than Transavia, but more expensive during off peak. Iberia airlines was cheaper than a Vueling flight from Valencia to Amsterdam even though both options were using the same physical plan

Yep. Last time I flew I had a nice shoving match with the person in front of me, culminating with actually having to talk to the stupid arrogant fuck. I don't like to talk to people who are any of those things, but someone who repeatedly smashes your knees with their seat without looking back to see what's happening after the first time needs to go out an airlock, let alone out the door of an airplane without a chute. Then they gave me dirty looks about it, as if I set the spacing of the seats or as if I we

Every air company packs people tighter and tighter, and if you have a problem with the average air company, don't fly Ryan Air.

I certainly won't. This was a business flight to Vegas, but it was on one of the major airlines, though I forget which. These days I have a big luxo-barge with Recaros and I would rather just drive, thanks.

Yep. Last time I flew I had a nice shoving match with the person in front of me, culminating with actually having to talk to the stupid arrogant fuck. I don't like to talk to people who are any of those things, but someone who repeatedly smashes your knees with their seat without looking back to see what's happening after the first time needs to go out an airlock, let alone out the door of an airplane without a chute. Then they gave me dirty looks about it, as if I set the spacing of the seats or as if I we

I first read about this in another context, which was about making airplanes more comfortable for really fat people. Although I hate the random event of sitting next to a fat person and having them spill over into my space (and trying to force them not to do that), I hate more that my space could simply be reduced because some slider was scooted over for them.

Why not? You can already pay more for leg room if you want to. It's just called first class. Also they already limit the weight of luggage that can be brought on or charge you extra for taking more luggage.

There have already been some airlines considering or implementing ticket prices based on weight [washingtonpost.com] since it adds to fuel costs, which are a moderate portion [wsj.com] of the flight's expenses. Just give everyone a base rate of weight between their person or luggage and adjust the cost based on the actual total weig

I think it would fall foul of discrimination laws in Europe and maybe the US. For example, someone with a medical condition that causes weight gain... The airlines aren't allowed to charge extra for wheelchairs or crutches or other essential medical equipment.

In practical terms it would be impossible for the airline to investigate every single passenger to see if they had a genuine medical condition.

I think it would fall foul of discrimination laws in Europe and maybe the US. For example, someone with a medical condition that causes weight gain...

They have already had that lawsuit in Canada and so now the airlines have to accommodate extremely obese people with extra seats due to human rights laws. I'm just waiting for a tall person to sue them for free access to exit row seats and then I'll be set...but apparently us tall people seem to be far less litigious although with the new long distance cabins Air Canada is introducing I expect the reduction in legroom those have might be the tipping point...

The fatties arguments mostly consider weight exclusively; Heavier people pay must pay more because they consume more. Sounds fair. But isn't quite.

There is evidence that obesity may shield from depression. I maintain that obese people are more likely to contribute to good mood and harmony between people and that hence the world is a better place because of that. I admit that it's hard to quantify this but let's consider this as a truth anyway. Would it be fair to put a chagrin tax on

I'm a 6'1", pretty fit guy. On a recent flight it was physically impossible for me to sit on the window seat I had been assigned. I demonstrated to the stewardess that I'd have to half-stand with my arse half way up the backrest and my head smashed into the ceiling, or sit with my knees up at headrest height. My thighbones were simply longer than the space between one seat and the next.

They bumped me up to business class, which was very nice of them, but not my point. I'm not freakishly tall; about 10% of m

Of course getting people to pay more because of size opens up a whole can of worms. Would tall people pay more for extra leg room, or small people get a discount?

Sounds like you're unfamiliar with airlines. Would you like some help?

If airlines were allowed to charge by the KG they will pick a stupidly low weight like 40 KG for adults (because our research indicates this is the optimum weight) and then charge per KG extra. Same will happen with any size measurement.

Or you just replace the box with something that is made out of a strong deformable cloth. If it is empty your feet will have the space, otherwise if it contains stiff you'll just be kicking the other passenger's stuff.

Same here... my legs are in agony if they can't extend under the seat in front of me. 6 hours with my legs doubled up would probably be considered torture. Why not just give me an injection, knock me out, and stuff me in the cargo hold?

Same here... my legs are in agony if they can't extend under the seat in front of me. 6 hours with my legs doubled up would probably be considered torture. Why not just give me an injection, knock me out, and stuff me in the cargo hold?

Because human bodies do not respond nearly as well to being treated like luggage as luggage does.

I don't know if it is airline policy or just some of the airline staff that give a damn. I can remember a couple times I approach the ticket counter and the person behind the desk says something like, "I'll get you an exit row seat." Oh, did I mention I'm in the 1%? I'm taller than 99% of the US population.

Another time I was seated in the most rear seat on the plane. There was a bulkhead directly behind the seat so it was a bit closer to the one in front and it could not recline. One of the cabin crew

Blame all the discount travel sites. Putting a plane in the air is expensive but nobody wants to shoulder that burden, instead they want discount flights where more and more people are packed in like cattle cars, every option costs more and more money and then people do nothing but complain about the quality of their flight or the service.

corporate travel makes it self-re-enforcing too. I only pay for maybe 1 out of 20 trips as personal travel, the rest is for work and the company travel system simply forbids all but the cheapest flights.

What I can't understanding is how anything you kept inside your seat would be accessible in-flight. There isn't enough room *now* to stand up, extract a bag, pull something out of it...which you'd have to hold while trying to stuff the bag back into the bin.